Squad news

FERNANDO VÁZQUEZ PRESENTED AT DEPORTIVO

11 Jun 2013Monday was the day marked for the second presentation of Fernando Vázquez; two were the messages sent by the coach and Lendoiro; one is that the new project will be based in Depor’s youngsters; the second is that the promotion is a target.

On Monday, Fernando Vázquez was presented at the Riazor. The Galician coach is signing a two-year deal with the option of extending the contract to a third year in case of clinching the promotion to Liga BBVA. President Augusto César Lendoiro and Pachi Dopico represented the club during the event.

The act lasted almost an hour; first the president spent twenty minutes talking of the necessity of relying in the academies in order to build up the project of Deportivo, later the coach talked of his role in this new project. Finally both men clarified specific issues asked by reporters.

The message sent by both men is that the new Deportivo will be a mixed team between veterans and young players, the latter ones are expected to be the majority in the near future, and at the same time that the club won’t resign to achieve the promotion back to Primera as soon as possible. The following is a resume of the main things explained during the press conference.

IMPORTANCE OF FERNANDO VÁZQUEZ
Lendoiro: “We hope Fernando Vázquez will be our coach for many years. We must thank him, because he arrived at a very difficult moment and he accepted to work under the circumstances. This is the real step forward and we are going to live it with the coach that knows how to do it. Fernando [Vázquez] is signing the longest contract that we have offered to any coach. This is the challenge of Fernando Vázquez and we trust in him.”

THE RELEGATION
Lendoiro: “The relegation was a hard moment, not even comparable to the great moments lived in Europe and neither the great joys in liga. We are content of having our fans. There are no small clubs if they have a big group of fans.”

ABEGONDO’S PROJECT
Lendoiro: “The near future can be seen in a tricky way, but it must be a complement. It means that if something fills us is the boys at the academy. It’s difficult to get players from the academy. Arguineguín is an example, place where we got several good players, as Valerón and Silva, but it’s difficult for small clubs to make a project like this. We got in the past great players from our academy, Fran, José Ramón… others like Viqueira and David in Scotland made good things too. Abegondo was a great change for us, but it’s a slow process. This is the future of Deportivo, but we must be cautious. We cannot demand too much from them. This is the project that brings more hope, but it will take time."

Fernando Vázquez: “Nobody told me before that I was the responsible one of a project like this; I’m talking of my previous experiences at other clubs, it’s the first time I am in charge of a project. This is a project from the top to the bottom, because if there’s a player with the qualities to compete at the first team, then he’ll do it. In a few years the half of the squad must be from here.”

THE GOAL FOR THE NEW SEASON
Lendoiro: “We must be realistic. The promotion is the target. That we are having lesser resources compared to the previous time? Yes, but we must have hope. I'm convinced we are going to present a team with solid chances of fighting for the promotion. People must be sure that we are assembling the best team in order to get the promotion. I’m convinced that we are aspiring to everything.”

Fernando Vázquez: “We want to be as higher as possible, but having players from here. We want to work with youngsters, but also want to clinch the promotion on next season."

JORGE MENDES
Lendoiro: “Jorge Mendes has a big importance to us. He loves Deportivo and the administration of the club. I don’t know how people can criticize the contribution of Pizzi or Oliveira. They players brought here can fail, but he [Mendes] always tries to help. The last thing he can do is to score the goals by himself.”

COMPOSITION OF THE TEAM
Fernando Vázquez: "I am content with nineteen outfield players plus the two goalkeepers. The players at Fabril are one step closer to be professionals; this is the big difference with the other youth teams. This is a mixed project; we will rely on the youngsters, but will also count with the players that are here. I know Insua and Lemos, but also have confidence in others like Sidibé, Teles and Insua”

Lendoiro: “The players exist. They are at Fabril, Juvenil A… these are the two cases where we can get them now. The person that will give them the chance is the coach. We had other coaches that didn’t count with them.”

SIGNINGS
Lendoiro: “The coach will decide what he needs. First he needs to make a decision on the players that we have. "It's a tough question [asked about the number of signings for the new season]. We will only try to get what he wants."

Fernando Vázquez: "We want quality. We need players to build up a team. We must be intelligent at the moment of spending the money. The fact that worries me the most is the attack. We need 60 goals in order to reach the promotion; this is the section to focus.”

Lendoiro: “The administrators will surely help us to accept the signings. I don’t think there will be a problem on this issue.”

PRE-SEASON
Fernando Vázquez: “The idea is to begin the pre-season on July 5. We will train in A Coruña at the beginning and later at Vilalba.”

EXPECTATIONS AT SEGUNDA
Fernando Vázquez: “Segunda is surprising. It’s hard to make an idea from the beginning. You don’t know where the teams will end. It’s easier at Primera as you have a clear picture of what will happen. At Segunda there are always surprises. We must remain calm. There’s no rupture on here as it happened to me in my previous experiences in the league. Later it depends on how things start. It will mark our way at Segunda.”